Not-so-extreme makeover boosts Fletcher Hall capacity

Published: May 21, 2011

By Phyllis HemannAssociate Editor

Phyllis Hemann

Diocesan employees Dennis Lee (left), Anne Dierks and Jim Driedric tour a spruced-up Fletcher Hall at St. John Center in Little Rock May 10. The four-story hall is used by overnight guests for events and retreats.

Phyllis Hemann

Diocesan employees Dennis Lee (left), Anne Dierks and Jim Driedric tour a spruced-up Fletcher Hall at St. John Center in Little Rock May 10. The four-story hall is used by overnight guests for events and retreats.

The building used for overnight accommodations at St. John Center in Little Rock was upgraded recently. Fletcher Hall received a spring cleaning and makeover to improve guests' stays.

Improvements include new sheets, pillows, blankets and towels for the entire building, and bunk beds were added to two floors to accommodate more participants for youth events. The chapel and lounge area were redecorated and new chairs added to accommodate use of the space by groups. The former "music room" is now a conference room with a library for guests. Light fixtures and carpeting were replaced where needed. Parishioners from Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Hot Springs Village donated artwork to spruce up the walls, including a large, vintage portrait of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that now resides outside the chapel.

By late May, seminarians will move out of the formation house, which was a rented house, and temporarily to the first floor of Fletcher Hall. Vocations director Msgr. Scott Friend and assistant vocations director Msgr. Richard Oswald will also have rooms on the first floor.

Fletcher Hall was built in 1965 to serve as dorm rooms for St. John Seminary. When all Fletcher Hall rooms are available, the building can accommodate up to 190 people.